Chapter 28
Axe
I threw open my locker door and tossed my bag onto the bench behind me. I stunk of sweat and soot.
“Listen up.”
Hearing Jameson’s voice didn’t surprise me. On the way to the fire I’d heard he’d become second in command just underneath the captain. Well deserved, although his command would take some getting used to.
Dante flanked my side, his locker two away from mine. He still had a shit-eating grin on his face. And I still wanted to give him the finger.
“We have representatives from the Forestry Service who will be gracing us with their presence on Wednesday afternoon. Everyone is expected to be here. Got it?”
Why was it that my brother was staring me down?
“What?” I threw out as everyone glanced in my direction.
“That includes you too. Rookie.”
The entire locker room erupted with laughter.
“To hell with all of you!” I yelled after cupping my hands around my mouth. They continued ribbing me, the bastards. I stripped off my shirt, placing my phone on the shelf before unfastening my belt. A long, hot shower was definitely needed.
The timing of the flash of my screen indicating an incoming call correlated to a buzzing sound coming from the communications system.
“Shit,” Rock snarled. “Another goddamn fire.”
I grabbed my phone, answering it immediately without bothering to look at the screen. “Sterling.”
“Axe, it’s Wade. Don’t hang up! Please.”
“Now isn’t the time, Wade. Plus, I don’t think we have anything to talk about. You made your point. We’re no longer friends.”
Wha. Wha. Wha.
The alarm continued to go off, the smokejumpers moving closer to the door in hopes of learning what the hell was going on. The alarm didn’t automatically mean we were headed out.
“Axe. Shut up. It’s the barn. I was going to see her and saw the smoke and…” The man was out of breath. What the hell was he bothering me for?
“What?” I was barely paying him any attention. He wasn’t making a damn bit of sense.
“The barn is on fire. Listen to me.”
“Then call the…” I shifted away from the group, turning my full attention to him. “What are you saying?” Now I noticed the hint of terror in his voice. “What’s on fire?”
“I’m saying the barn is on fire. I’ve tried calling the fire department. They’re on other calls.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear, trying to find out what the hell was being said on the intercom.
Jameson made his way into the locker room. “Listen up, ladies and gents. We have a situation at the Sterling Ranch. Engine twelve is on another call.”
Barn.
Kenzie.
Wade continued, putting the fear of God into me.
“And Axe. Kenzie’s inside that barn and I can’t get to her. You’ve got to save her.”
* * *
Kenzie
The smoke was rolling, spilling into the barn. Coughing, I threw my arm across my nose and mouth as I raced to Sasha’s stall. She was already anxious, hoofing the hay.
“It’s okay, baby girl.” Another cough almost had me doubled over, the smoke already stinging my eyes. Linseed oil. Someone had set the barn on fire. While I knew that the product could spontaneously combust if not stored properly, I knew better than to think this was an accidental fire.
Not with everything going on.
I grabbed Sasha’s reins, pulling her toward the main portion of the barn. Thankfully, the electricity was still on.
“Stay here, baby girl.” As soon as I headed toward the main door, another burst of smoke came from underneath. We had to get the fuck out of here now.
With both hands on the door, I tried to yank it open. The latch was hot to the touch.
And the door wouldn’t budge.
So I tried again, forced to yank my hands away only seconds later.
Someone had locked me in.
I rubbed my fingertips on my jeans as I took a step back, turning in a full circle.
Don’t panic. Think this through.
The terror was almost blinding.
Additional smoke was rolling, now burning my eyes.
The other door. There was one in the back. I raced down the long corridor, hearing a horrible cracking sound. A split second later and a scream erupted from my throat.
Fire was licking up one wall, a portion of the roof already engulfed.
Oh, God. Think. Think.
Blinking back tears, I did what I could to control my breathing and to keep focused as I ran to the back entrance, shoving on both doors.
They moved, but not by very much. Something had been placed in front.
“Help!”
With one sharp cry, I slapped my hand across my mouth, realizing that no one could hear me. What few ranch hands spent the night were at the other compound, and they wouldn’t be able to notice the fire unless flying embers torched the trees.
Seeing several tools, I rushed toward them, grabbing a shovel.
Everything was getting blurry, breathing difficult, but I refused to die this way. No fucking way.
Not when I’d finally admitted I was in love.
Goddamn it.
Using every ounce of strength I could muster, I swung at the doors.
They didn’t budge.
Beads of sweat trickled down my face, trying to fall into my eyes. Wiping them away roughly, I took another deep breath and swung again.
And again.
And again.
This time, exhaustion took over, pitching me forward.
Another cracking sound drew my attention.
Looking up, I almost panicked.
Flames had crawled across the ceiling.
Dropping the shovel, I made my way back to the main room.
Sasha was pacing, as frightened as I was.
“It’s okay, baby. I’ll get us some help.”
Coughing, I stumbled toward the stairs, praying to God Sasha would remain calm. Meanwhile, I was freaking out. I grabbed my phone and another shirt, forced to lean against the railing from a coughing spell as I returned down.
Shaking, I had to blink furiously just to be able to see the screen so I could dial 9-1-1.
“What is your emergency?”
“Um, there’s a fire at…”
“What’s the address, ma’am?”
Oh, my God. I had to think about the address. When I finally managed to rattle it out, I struggled to make my way down the stairs, the smoke rising.
“Okay, I’ve dispatched an engine. Unfortunately, they are on another call. Can you get out of the home?”
“It’s a barn and no! I’m locked in. Someone is trying to kill me and…” Another cough finally doubled me over. I dropped to my knees just as the electricity went off.
Another cracking sound. Then another.
Boom!
A scream was ripped from my lungs, Sasha almost trampling me to death in trying to free the falling timber.
“I’ll be dead…”
“Miss. Stay on the line.”
“I…”
Boom!
* * *
Axe
“You shouldn’t be driving.” Jameson’s voice was in my ear. When I’d rushed to my truck, he’d been right on my heel, jumping in before I managed to stop him.
I swerved around traffic, slamming my hand on the horn a half dozen times. If the motherfuckers didn’t get out of my way, I’d roll over them.
“Calm down or you’re not going to get there in time.”
Hissing, I threw him a look. “The fire was set intentionally.”
“You don’t know that. You also don’t know that Kenzie hasn’t gotten out.”
“Then why hasn’t she called? Why?” I dialed her number again, taking gasping breaths as I swung around a corner, almost losing control.
“Hi, this is Kenzie Sterling. Please leave a…”
I didn’t bother, ending the call and tossing the phone onto the dashboard. “No answer. I knew I shouldn’t have left her at the council meeting by herself. Someone did this to her.”
Jameson sighed. “Let’s just get to the fire. Okay?”
When I was forced to stop at a traffic light, I slammed my hand on the steering wheel and went through it, narrowly avoiding getting us T-boned.
“Fuck. Let me check on the fire engine.”
“Yeah, you fucking do that.” I rolled, hitting speeds in excesses of eighty. I glanced into the rearview mirror, thankful the others were following closely behind.
With no water, all we could do was to try to minimize the danger. All I cared about was getting her out of there alive.
“Just fucking get there as soon as possible!” Jameson hissed, tossing his phone onto the dashboard.
I made a final turn, glancing at him. “How far out?”
“Far enough. We need more firefighters just like we need more of us.”
“Is that what the damn meeting is about?”
He snorted. “Yeah, the captain raised holy hell.”
“Well, it’s possible that beautiful woman did as well.”
I could feel the heat of my brother’s stare. “You love her.”
With another hard twist of my hand, I nodded. “Yeah, I do. I think I have for a very long time.”
A strange silence settled in.
“Will would be damn proud of you, Axe. He always told me he knew you’d end up with Kenzie.”
I don’t know why hearing the words touched me as much as they did, but for a split second, I could see his smiling face.
“Oh, my God.”
Jameson’s voice broke the peaceful moment and I stared out the window.
At a raging fire already consuming the barn.
There was no second guessing, no time to waste. I pressed my foot down on the accelerator as I rolled down the driveway
There were several vehicles parked at a distance with their headlights pointed at the horrific scene, but I rolled closer, barely tossing the gear into park before jumping out.
I heard male voices, screams from all around, but I ignored every one of them as I rushed toward the collapsing barn.
“Where is Kenzie? Where is she?”
“Axe. She… She’s…”
Shaken, I turned my head, noticing Wade stumbling toward me.
There were several trying to use fire extinguishers, but the fire had already gotten out of hand.
Sirens blasted in the distance, several of them. Without thinking clearly, I rushed toward him, grabbing him by both arms and shaking. “Where is she? Where?”
“No. Axe. Don’t.” Josh suddenly appeared. “He tried to get her out.”
“You’re to blame for this!” I spit out. “She’s in there because of you and your fucking father.”
“Whoa!” Jameson yelled, trying to pull me off.
“Go. Go. Go!” Rock yelled, flying past me with several of the other smokejumpers.
Wade was shaken, gripping my forearms. “I tried, Axe. I tried to get her out. Too hot. Too fucking hot.”
“Is there a damn opening? Is there?”
“Come on, Axe. Not like this.” While I heard my brother, I just didn’t give a shit.
“Around the side. But it’s hot. Someone blocked her in. They locked her in. Why would they do that?”
I wanted to scream at him once again it was all his father’s fault, but I couldn’t waste any additional time.
I wasn’t interested in paying any damn attention. There was no time to wait to see if the sirens were from the oncoming engine. The roof was getting ready to collapse. I flew toward my truck, grabbing an axe from the back bed.
“You heard them,” Jameson said. “It’s too hot.”
“Try and stop me. I will save her.” Anger fueled everything as I pounded my boots on the ground. All I could think about was getting to her.
“Axe. You can’t go in there!”
While I had no idea who was trying to stop me, it wasn’t going to work.
“I don’t give a shit.” I rushed around the side, noticing what Wade had been talking about. Someone had fucking blocked the door.
So I’d do this the hard way.
Taking a stance, I swung the axe. The single splintering sound was enough to fuel me.
So I swung again.
And again.
With two more brutal swings, I created an opening almost large enough to get the fuck inside. When I felt a presence, I hissed. Through the light of the flames, I recognized Wade.
There was no sense in arguing.
We ripped the boards off together, jumping inside. With flames everywhere, we’d have one shot at getting her out alive.
“Go that way,” I yelled, pointing toward the corridor that housed several horses. Thankfully, this barn wasn’t in full use. That much I’d learned before.
I made my way toward the main portion, darting through falling timbers and pieces of the ceiling.
Boom!
Crack. Wham!
The sounds were horrific, the fire consuming almost everything. I could still hear the sirens, the vehicles getting closer.
I held my arm across my face, a fucking piece of wood falling on my back. I was pitched forward, immediately struggling to toss it off.
Without having my fire-retardant jacket on, my shirt caught on fire, but I rolled, immediately yelling her name. “Kenzie!”
Gasping, I scrambled to my feet, catching the sound of something. Something very faint. The mare. She was alive. The room was actively caving in, debris falling all around me.
“Over here!” I yelled for Wade, rubbing my eyes as I scanned the barn.
Then I noticed the horse. She was antsy, more so as I approached. “Whoa, girl. Come on. It’s okay.”
“Jesus,” Wade called, narrowly missing being crushed by a beam.
“Take the horse. Get her out of here.”
“I’m not leaving you or Kenzie here.”
“Wade. Go.” I moved forward, almost tripping. “Go! I will find her. I promise you.”
“You damn well better.” Finally, he grabbed the reins. Another sound caught my attention. A slight moan.
I yanked away debris, finding her on her side on the barn floor.
Oh, my God. “Kenzie.” I dropped down, saying a silent prayer that she was still alive. “Oh, baby. Are you okay?”
“Mmm…”
That was all the time I could waste. I gathered her into my arms, holding her close. When I noticed a horse blanket, I grabbed it, covering her body and taking long strides forward.
Boom!
The horrific sound came from right behind. I jumped forward, swinging my head around. One third of the roof had just collapsed.
Now wasn’t the time to watch the entire building burn to the ground. I had to get her out of here. I took off running, jumping over debris as the building continued to crumble around me. As I neared the place where I’d come in, I was met with a wall of flames.
Whoosh! Boom!
Another beam down.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I had no other choice. “Just hold on, baby. Hold on.” I backed away, shaking my head. This wasn’t what I’d signed up for. Or was it? I had to remind myself I was a danger junkie. “Just so you know, Palomino Girl, I’m madly in love with you. We’ll get through this. Together.”
I wasn’t a man of prayers, but I needed everything going for me. So I prayed as hard as I had it in me.
And I took off running. With the flames covering the opening, if I missed, there wouldn’t be a second chance.
This was more than just a leap of faith.
This was one to protect the woman I loved and to have the chance to live out a full and healthy life.
As I neared the flames, I took and held my breath.
And I jumped.